Kern tripod, help!

[Jockos]

Hi all!

I just got home with this huge piece of tripod. Weighs a few kilos, and has a minimum height of ~150cm.
It's very stable, and I think I got a good price. Unfortunately a piece was loose (see picture), and I can't figure out how to fit it..

What do I need to do/buy to be able to mount my camera on this?

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s294/Jockos_bucket/IMG_20160929_200151.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/user/Jockos_bucket/media/IMG_20160929_200151.jpg.html)
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s294/Jockos_bucket/IMG_20160929_200124.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/user/Jockos_bucket/media/IMG_20160929_200124.jpg.html)
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s294/Jockos_bucket/IMG_20160929_200120.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/user/Jockos_bucket/media/IMG_20160929_200120.jpg.html)

[Bob Salomon]

I have a feeling that you should go visit a civil engineer and show him the tripod. You may find that it is a transit tripod rather then a photo tripod.

[DrTang]

I think that goes underneath (black side facing he floor) and a (missing) long bolt goes thru and secures the tripod head


that is one nice beefy tripod though


wait.. from the wear patterns.. it might fit into the hole in the head - shiny side up - and be some kind of bowl adapter for a special head



^^my guesses

[Jim Galli]

Yep, theodolite tripod but perhaps convertible to LF use.

[Jim Noel]

Yes, convertible, but not easily if you are not a pretty good craftsman.

[Jockos]

If I put the plate I got on top like a dome, put a plate under the base, and then ran a bolt through the whole thing - same size as a tripod screw - and topped it of with a arca type clamp.. Shouldn't that do it?

[Jac@stafford.net]

I have done it, and it is no big deal at all. First, you are missing a bolt and tab that situates the bowl, but don't worry because you would not use them for the conversion, or later.

First, you can take it to a machinist and ask for a round aluminum plate to cover the large hole with countersunk fastener holes at the edge to fasten it down. Place a hole in the center to tap a 3/8"x16 wing nut with a capture washer. That's your tripod head mount. Mine is a hefty 1/4" thick plate. You don't have to go that thick.

Second, if you have any workworking tools, use a fly-cutter to cut two pieces of plywood to round. One goes on the top, the other (which might be smaller in diameter) goes on the bottom. Drill a hole for a 3/8"x16 stud or wing nut, screw it in. Good to go.

[Jockos]

I have done it, and it is no big deal at all. First, you are missing a bolt and tab that situates the bowl, but don't worry because you would not use them for the conversion, or later.

First, you can take it to a machinist and ask for a round aluminum plate to cover the large hole with countersunk fastener holes at the edge to fasten it down. Place a hole in the center to tap a 3/8"x16 wing nut with a capture washer. That's your tripod head mount. Mine is a hefty 1/4" thick plate. You don't have to go that thick.

Second, if you have any workworking tools, use a fly-cutter to cut two pieces of plywood to round. One goes on the top, the other (which might be smaller in diameter) goes on the bottom. Drill a hole for a 3/8"x16 stud or wing nut, screw it in. Good to go.Where did you put the fastener holes? would it be possible to have a look at how you did it?

[Drew Wiley]

You need a 3/8-16 turn knob plus a few other odds n' ends. I don't know sources of supply in your country. It would take me about twenty minutes to adapt this to
professional standards, and only about $10 US money. Find somebody with a drill press and basic shop skills.

[Drew Wiley]

Oh, and forget that secondary domed black piece. It's better to make your own FLAT piece the same diameter as the whole top platform, with a smaller hole through it to accept the turn knob.

[LabRat]

This is a motion picture tripod (Kern Pailliard/Bolex)... (Surveyor's tripods have a three point leveling head for the more exact adjustment) The domed part goes into the rounded part of the tripod yoke, that when used with a head that has a long bolt coming out the bottom, it allows a slight leveling action, and a large knob on the bottom of that bolt tightens & grips the lower dome underneath the yoke to secure it...

You will probably find it easy to make metal or wood plates for the top and bottom of the yoke, and have a long bolt that goes through both plates, and threads into your new tripod head, and either a bolt head, on knob on the bottom to hold the head on...

Steve K

[Jockos]

This is a motion picture tripod (Kern Pailliard/Bolex)... (Surveyor's tripods have a three point leveling head for the more exact adjustment) The domed part goes into the rounded part of the tripod yoke, that when used with a head that has a long bolt coming out the bottom, it allows a slight leveling action, and a large knob on the bottom of that bolt tightens & grips the lower dome underneath the yoke to secure it...

You will probably find it easy to make metal or wood plates for the top and bottom of the yoke, and have a long bolt that goes through both plates, and threads into your new tripod head, and either a bolt head, on knob on the bottom to hold the head on...

Steve K

I think you're right. The seller mentioned it was a Kern Kino Tripod!

I'm going to look closer into this in the weekend, most likely I'll skip the dome, and go with a three plate sandwich and a arca style clamp on top.

[Drew Wiley]

Domed connections were also used for certain Nikon survey instruments, though it's an unlikely relation in this particular case. Regardless, this should make a nice
large format photo tripod with a bit of modification.

[Bob Salomon]

This is a motion picture tripod (Kern Pailliard/Bolex)... (Surveyor's tripods have a three point leveling head for the more exact adjustment) The domed part goes into the rounded part of the tripod yoke, that when used with a head that has a long bolt coming out the bottom, it allows a slight leveling action, and a large knob on the bottom of that bolt tightens & grips the lower dome underneath the yoke to secure it...

You will probably find it easy to make metal or wood plates for the top and bottom of the yoke, and have a long bolt that goes through both plates, and threads into your new tripod head, and either a bolt head, on knob on the bottom to hold the head on...

Steve K

At that rate it could also be a typewriter stand since Paillard was also the Hermes distributor for Hermes typewriters in the USA.
Paillard was a trading company in the mid 20th century for, among other items, Kern, Bolex, Hermes and Hasselblad.

[Jac@stafford.net]

At that rate it could also be a typewriter stand since Paillard was also the Hermes distributor for Hermes typewriters in the USA.

And Remington Rand and Singer Sewing Machine made Colt 1911 pistols.

[Bob Salomon]

And Remington Rand and Singer Sewing Machine made Colt 1911 pistols.

Actually the M1 that I qualified with in Basic Training was made by Singer Sewing Machine.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Yep. Air Force. That's how far back we go, Bob. It was our perimeter patrol weapon when I was in.

[Bob Salomon]

Yep. Air Force. That's how far back we go, Bob. It was our perimeter patrol weapon when I was in.

We had to use it because the newer weapons kept jamming!

[Robert Opheim]

I looked up Kern on the web - they make high end tripods for surveying! A wonderful tripod. If it was mine I would buy a washer and bolt and tighten the screw into a 3-way tripod head. My favorite is the Gitzo PL5 - which I use for my 8x10 Calumet and 4x5 my Linhof Technikardan. The wonderful thing is with a tripod like you have - it will not move in the wind!

[Jockos]

The wonderful thing is with a tripod like you have - it will not move in the wind!

If the spikes are pushed all the way down, the darn thing might just stop an earthquake!

[Jockos]

I ordered the parts from laser cut aluminium on eBay. Two large diameter discs for top and bottom, one disc the same diameter as the hole to secure horizontal movement, and one thicker small disc to act as a spacer before the clamp.
60mm Sunwayfoto clamp and a screw that I had to scour all over town to find, turns out non-metric screws are not that common here any more!

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